Bresser EXOS-2 vs Celestron CG-4

[lewis_riches]

I have a dilemma. I'm at the point where I've dealt with my regrets about wasting money on an Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ instead of putting that money aside for a better first system and have now decided to buy a nice Ritchey-Chretien tube, having compromised a little on aperture to bring it into budget.

I'm still using the nasty old CG-3 mount that came with the AstroMaster and I want to do some long-exposure DSO imaging. Naturally I will need to look into getting a decent mount and the above are the options I am considering. Given the light weight of the RC tube, I'm assuming the mounts I'm considering are adequate.

I'm not too interested about GOTO functionality but I will need to be able to connect a motor system to the Dec and RA gears. I will also need to be able to open up the controller to wire in a DIY autoguider (my long-term project using a Raspberry Pi). So the main thing I'm interested in is stability within the budget of £300, excluding any separate motor drivers that I will need.

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How do the two mounts compare? Anyone have any experience with either of these? Any bugbears I should know about? Is the Bresser brand any good?

Thanks and clear skies!

Lewis

[misterp]

Hello Lewis,

Probably not answering you questions but my thoughts are spend a little more on a better mount if you can, like a Skywatchers HEQ5 pro or a Celestron Advanced VX and continue to use you 130 ota for the time being. If you are going to use a DSLR then, to start with use this with a lens.

Good luck

Ian

[lewis_riches]

You haven't answered it but you've brought out the point I need to make:

I'm after a solid, stable mount over one with a broader range of features. Is the extra expense paid out for, say and AVX over a CG-4, going on the NexStar handset and PEC or stability?

[lewis_riches]

(And thanks for your response, of course!)

[Cornelius Varley]

The Exos 2 is basically the same as a Skywatcher Eq5 or Celestron Cg5 so will have a higher payload capacity than the Cg4 / Eq3-2. The quoted payload for the Exos 2 is 13kg for visual and 10kg for imaging.

[Mercona]

Have you found any issues with the setup? I bought one of these recently and have set it up 4 times now and every time something has been wrong. Example... I set up with custom Lat and long, because the closest city on the list is 800 miles away. So I set it to my town, polar align. Then go to objects, pick Jupiter and it says Object is under horizon. Noon, it's right there in the sky at about a 45 degrees above horizon? Ughhhh